Craigslist rental home scam? Highland woman says 'landlord' didn't own the home

HIGHLAND -- Shanita Williams moved into a newly renovated three-bedroom house in a modest neighborhood on this city's west side last week, thinking she found the perfect home for her and her five children.

Williams thought the $975 monthly rent offered by the mystery landlord going by the name Edwin Smith, dressed in a dark suit and driving a shiny, brand new red Audi A8, was too good to be true.

"He said he bought the house in a foreclosure for like $40,000 or $50,000," said Williams, 39, a payroll clerk for a Rancho Cucamonga construction company for the last six years, "He said he wasn't trying to get rich, he just needed someone to take care of the property."

As it turned out, it was too good to be true. Williams says she fell victim to a rental scam on Craigslist.

"The guy rented us a property he did not own. We were scammed," said Williams, standing Thursday outside the brown and tan house on Osbun Road , sprinklers on and dousing the front lawn after the Ontario-based property management company that owns the house, DCI Investments LLC, had the water turned back on.

She said DCI, after learning last week Williams and her children were living in the house illegally, had the utilities shut off, then called Highland code enforcement. The Williams family was on the brink of eviction.

"If they're living in a house without utilities, they can't be living there," said Dale Everman, the city's building official.

Williams said it started June 13, two days after she moved into the house, when a woman who claimed she was the one who was renting the house showed up at the front door. A visit by Upland real-estate agent Jeanette Tapia, who was showing the home for DCI Investments, followed.

"They were screaming and yelling at me. She (Tapia) said we needed to get our stuff and get out now," Williams said. "There were three guys with her with baseball bats."

Reached by telephone Thursday, Tapia, a former San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy of 16 years, declined to comment. She did say she would be reaching out to the state Department of Real Estate and the Association of Realtors to inform them of the situation.

On June 13, Tapia posted on her Facebook page a fraud alert, warning potential renters to be wary of Craigslist ads and to contact a real-estate agent.

Bill Steel, the attorney representing DCI Investments, said the company has never heard of an Edwin Smith and that DCI does not have a lease agreement with Williams.

"DCI didn't get any of this money," Steel said Thursday. "There's someone out there who's perpetrating fraud on tenants and property owners."

He said this was the first time DCI had been stung by fraud.

"They contacted the police and they're following up on it," Steel said.

Williams is hoping she can work something out with DCI and have a sit-down with them. She's also reached out to the Inland Counties Legal Services and Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board for assistance.

Steel couldn't say one way or another what the fate will be for Williams and her children, who range in age from 9 months to 17. He did say DCI Investments put a lot of money into renovating the home, and the average rent for 3-bedroom homes in that area is far more than what Williams is paying.

For now, all the utilities are on at the house, but Williams doesn't know how long it will last.

"When we found the property we were just excited we found a house big enough for all of us that was affordable and in my price range," Williams said. "And then we were devastated with the news we were scammed and have to move immediately. We're all stressed out."